“This is what the LORD says to me: ‘I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.’”
~ Isaiah 18:4
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you know what your grandmaa and grandpaa are as missionaries? Your grandmaa and grandpaa are sent ones. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are as missionaries – or as sent ones, God sent messengers. What your grandmaa and grandpaa are doing as missionaries – or as sent ones, is helping the evangelical church in their host country mature. What your grandmaa and grandpaa are doing as missionaries – or as sent ones, is helping to meet in their host country the felt needs of the local evangelical church. Do you know who the guys are who are called major and minor prophets? The major and minor prophets lived on planet Earth before Jesus was born. The major and minor prophets were God sent messengers. Some of the major and minor prophets lived during the period of time when God’s specially chosen people – the Israelite people group, lived in the land that God had promised them that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . what these guys did as major and minor prophets – or as God’s sent ones, was to remind God’s specially chosen guys and gals that they were to worship only God instead of worshipping their enemies’ idol gods. The Israelite people group was not the only people group to whom God sent messages through His major and minor prophets. God sent His major and minor prophets to different people groups with warning messages as to what would happen to them if . . . warning guys and gals – and kids, of what will happen to them if they are not obedient to God is something that your grandmaa and grandpaa do as missionaries. Do you know who are God’s elected guys, gals and kids? Any guy, gal or kid who has makes a decision of faith by believing in Jesus joins God’s kingdom family as one of God’s adopted kids. Every guy, gal and kid who has made a decision of faith by believing in Jesus becomes a member of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is the universal church that is made up of only Christ-followers. The church in Latin America is called the evangelical church. The church – or the body of Christ, which is in Latin America only has churches that have Christ-followers who believe that a guy, gal or kid will be born again when he or she believes what Jesus did for him or for her on a crude cross. The Latin America evangelical church does not include sects – such as the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. A sect is a group of people who have added to or who have changed the Bible. A sect may believe that Jesus was not God’s only Son who God sent to planet Earth to die for your sins but instead believe that Jesus was just a good guy. The Catholic Church in Latin America is not seen as an evangelical church. The Catholic Church in Latin America worships Jesus’ ma. There are though guys, gals and kids who go to Catholic Churches in Latin America who have or who will become God’s adopted kids through having made or who will make a decision of faith.
Has your grandpaa confused you yet? Your grandpaa sometimes does a really good job of confusing guys and gals. It can be easy to get confused about God as you study the Bible. You will hear preachers telling you that God loves you. God does love the guys, gals and kids who have lived, are living and will live on planet Earth who are His specially chosen and elected kids. God does want the very best for the guys, gals and kids who He loves. This does not mean that God is ignoring the guys, gals and kids who are not His specially chosen or elected guys, gals and kids. God has given and will give these guys, gals and kids the opportunity to know Him, too. Your grandmaa and grandpaa as missionaries are helping host country Christ-follower guys learn how to warn other guys, gals and kids to not to be disobedient to God. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are helping the Guatemala evangelical church by helping to enable guys who are living in rural areas to become God’s messengers. Ever since God sent out major and minor prophets, God has been calling out messengers to warn guys, gals and kids everywhere to obey Him or else. Isaiah was a major prophet who God used a lot to tell guys and gals to shape up or . . . Isaiah 18 has Isaiah warning guys and gals who lived in another country. These guys and gals who God has Isaiah sending a warning message were tall and smooth skinned. These guys and gals seemed to have been scary to other guys and gals in other people groups. These guys, gals and kids spoke a different language. Does a guy, gal or kid who looks different and who speaks a different language scare you? You would not be the first kids who have been scared of guys, gals and kids who looked different from your ma and dad – and from you, and who spoke a language that you did not understand. Something that your grandmaa and grandpaa like to do with the college age young guys and gals who have come on summer teams to where your grandmaa and grandpaa lived in Bolivia and now here in Guatemala is to have them ride on busses. Your grandmaa and grandpaa ask each college age guy and gal to read through a tract with the guy or gal who sits down on a bus seat next to him or her. Your grandmaa and grandpaa have the college age guys and gals do this to help them realize that the guys, gals and kids who they will end up talking to are just like they are. The college age guys and gals are not as intimidated by the host country guys, gals and kids after riding on a bus. This happens because the college age guys and gals will find that because of how packed a bus can get that even though they have had to sit very close or stand very close to their country hosts that nothing catastrophic happened to them.
What do you think that God does all this time? Isaiah tell you in verse 4 “This is what the LORD says to me: ‘I will remain quiet and will look on from my dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.’” You can be sure that God will always keep His eye on you no matter where He sends you.
Isaiah 18 (63)